Lawyers for Donald Trump and his top company executives filed a notice of appeal Monday challenging the recent judgment in his civil fraud case — and nearly half a billion dollars in fines.
The former president’s legal team notified the mid-level First Dept. Court of Appeals of their plan to try to get Judge Arthur Engoron’s Feb. 16 ruling tossed. Engoron found Trump and his top executives liable for multiple fraud counts, ordered them to pay more than $464 million in fines — mainly affecting Trump — and barred him from running a New York business for three years, among other penalties.
Typically, if a defendant wants to pause the consequences of a judgment — known as requesting a stay — it’s necessary to post the total amount owed in a court-controlled account. If Trump decides not to seek a stay, state Attorney General Letitia could begin to collect proceeds as he appeals, including by sending the sheriff to seize his properties.
Lawyers for Trump did not immediately respond to inquiries about which route they would take.
The former president’s share of the mammoth judgment comes out to around $454 million with interest and is growing by nearly $112,000 daily.
Engoron found Trump, his sons, Eric and Don Jr., and former finance execs Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney liable for intentionally committing fraud in New York’s real estate market for years by manipulating his net worth in business deals to secure better terms illegally. That followed an almost three-month trial and pretrial ruling finding them liable on the top fraud claim based on fraudulent paperwork. The judge’s ecision after the trial determined the fraud was intentional.
“We trust that the Appellate Division will overturn this egregious fine and take the necessary steps to restore the public faith in New York’s legal system,” Trump spokeswoman Alina Habba said. Habba officially repped Weisselberg in the case.
James, who brought the case, declined to comment.
This story will be updated.
